


are both with thee, wherever I abide

by stillskies



Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 03:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillskies/pseuds/stillskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Watanuki spends the holidays with his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	are both with thee, wherever I abide

It has become tradition that he makes them gloves for the winter holidays. He doesn’t mind; the knitting is soothing, and he has long since become adept at knitting patterns from the yarn into the design. This year, Shizuka – it’s still so odd to refer to him as that, Kimihiro thinks, even though they’ve been… whatever they’ve been for the better part of three years – has midnight blue gloves with a silver arrow, and Himawari-chan has pale pink mittens with a small bird. 

They meet at Shizuka’s temple, and Kimihiro pauses to pray and ring the bell for Haruka-san before he enters the main house. Shizuka’s parents are out of town, so the living room is lit by candles, and there is a pot of tea sitting on the table, three cups sitting nestled together next to the teapot. He puts down the wrapped gloves and picks up Himawari-chan’s cup, remembering when Shizuka gave it to her three Christmases ago.

She had been raving about an English poem that they had translated in class, and Shizuka had gotten a black teacup and written part of the poem in his steady hand. 

_I would like to give you the silver  
branch, the small white flower, the one  
word that will protect you  
from the grief at the center  
of your dream, from the grief  
at the center_

He places the cup back on the table and looks around. Shizuka is nowhere to be seen, so Kimihiro makes his way toward the back of the house, towards Shizuka’s room. He finds Himawari-chan curled up on the futon, fingers curled toward her body. He leans over and kisses her temple before retreating.

He finds Shizuka out back, bow in hand.

 _What are you doing?_ Kimihiro asks, sitting on the porch.

 _Practicing,_ Shizuka replies.

Kimihiro nods, and Shizuka sits down next to him. _Himawari-chan is already asleep,_ Kimihiro says softly. It’s cold, so Kimihiro scoots closer.

 _She came early to help,_ Shizuka explains. _She looked tired, so I told her to take a nap._

_Ah._

Shizuka stands. _Let’s go,_ he says, and offers Kimihiro a hand up.

Kimihiro accepts it, and they enter the house, his hand still clasped in Shizuka’s. 

_I thought you were here,_ Himawari-chan says. She is sitting up on the futon, looking at them bleary eyed. She moves to stand, and Shizuka and Kimihiro are at her side, each taking an arm. She leans more on Shizuka than Kimihiro, and Kimihiro can’t help but feel a pang of hurt; it’s been _years_ , and he is capable of taking care of himself now.

But he knows, more than others, that old habits are hard to break.

They are in the living room, and Himawari-chan is pouring their tea. Shizuka is handing out gifts, and Kimihiro is distributing the cakes he made the day before. They sip their tea and eat the cakes, chatting quietly. The candlelight makes it hard to see more than features, but they both look happy, and that’s all Kimihiro really cares about.

Himawari-chan opens her presents first and coos over the mittens, trying them on. Shizuka bought her a scarf in a warm yellow, and she thanks them both profusely. 

Shizuka goes next, opening Himawari-chan’s gift first. 

_Your current glove looks like it’s going to fall apart,_ she tells him when he holds up the archery glove. 

_Thank you,_ he says quietly, and opens Kimihiro’s gift. The gloves fit perfectly, for which Kimihiro is grateful; last year, they were a bit small.

It’s Kimihiro’s turn, and he opens his present carefully. Himawari-chan and Shizuka went in on a joint gift, and he peels the paper away slowly. Inside is a new blender and an Italian cookbook.

 _Mokona-chan broke the one at the shop,_ Himawari-chan explains. _And you were saying you wanted to learn some new recipes._

 _Thank you,_ Kimihiro says, touched.

 _Gelato,_ Shizuka says, carefully pronouncing the foreign word.

 _Now?_ Kimihiro asks, baffled.

Shizuka nods.

Kimihiro throws the wrapping paper at him.

Himawari-chan watches them and laughs happily. 

Kimihiro smiles, nudging Shizuka in the ribs and scolding him for demanding food when he is perfectly capable of making it himself, after all the lessons he gave Shizuka last year, thank you very much.

The candles are starting to burn out by the time their eyes begin to droop. Shizuka ushers them into his room and lays out two extra futons right next to his while Himawari-chan and Kimihiro change into pajamas. 

Kimihiro gets a candle from Shizuka’s drawer and places it in the window, and lights it for Yuuko-san.

They lay down next to each other and drift into sleep, the glow of the candle watching over them.

**Author's Note:**

> Title shamelessly borrowed from Sonnet 45 by William Shakespeare
> 
> The poem that appears is actually from [Variation on the Word _Sleep_](http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16221) by Margaret Atwood


End file.
